eyeq360:I think that a majority of people lie about their alcohol consumption, so this isn't exactly groundbreaking or surprising in any way.

It is not surprising, it is well established and factored into studies and reports on the topic. The thing the most recent study is to get what should be a reasonably accurate assessment of the scale of the underreporting.

This makes sense. I was in England a few years ago and it was awesome. Pubs there are as common as donut shops in Canada. Plus you can get pints of awesome cask ale for so cheap (again at least compared to Canada bar prices). If I lived there I would probably be drinking all the time too.

xria:eyeq360: I think that a majority of people lie about their alcohol consumption, so this isn't exactly groundbreaking or surprising in any way.

It is not surprising, it is well established and factored into studies and reports on the topic. The thing the most recent study is to get what should be a reasonably accurate assessment of the scale of the underreporting.

But it's based upon the total amount of alcohol purchased in England. Not all of it was bought by just English citizens. People who are not English, but who are in England for whatever reason like vacation or business, also partake of the alcohol in England. You have to factor that in.And it's not based on the most current data or years worth of data, but on one particular year and then a lot of assumptions are made with some fudge factors built in. One year of data does not make for a reasonably accurate assessment.

eyeq360:xria: eyeq360: I think that a majority of people lie about their alcohol consumption, so this isn't exactly groundbreaking or surprising in any way.

It is not surprising, it is well established and factored into studies and reports on the topic. The thing the most recent study is to get what should be a reasonably accurate assessment of the scale of the underreporting.

But it's based upon the total amount of alcohol purchased in England. Not all of it was bought by just English citizens. People who are not English, but who are in England for whatever reason like vacation or business, also partake of the alcohol in England. You have to factor that in.And it's not based on the most current data or years worth of data, but on one particular year and then a lot of assumptions are made with some fudge factors built in. One year of data does not make for a reasonably accurate assessment.

People who are English partake of alcohol while in other countries as well (quite a lot of it in fact in some age ranges), etc., so a lot of that sort of issue will largely cancel itself out. It is certainly a lot more of a reasonably accurate assessment of underreporting than the previous wild assed guesses anyway.

"As good as this is," said the Scotsman, "I still prefer the pubs back home. In Glasgow, there's a wee place called McTavish's. The landlord goes out of his way for the locals. When you buy four drinks, he'll buy the fifth.

"Well, Angus," said the Englishman, "at my local pub in London, the Red Lion, the barman will buy you your third drink after you buy the first two."

"Ahhh, dat's nothin'," said the Irishman, "back home in my favorite pub, the moment you set foot in the place, they'll buy you a drink, then another, all the drinks you like, actually. Then, when you've had enough drinks, they'll take you upstairs and see dat you gets laid, all on the house!"

The Englishman and Scotsman were suspicious of the claims.

The Irishman swore every word was true.

"Did this actually happen to you?" they asked.

"No not meself, personally, no," admitted the Irishman,"but it did happen to me sister quite a few times."

As an Irish person, visiting my company's offices in London, I was taken aback to see they all go out for a few pints on Fridays at lunch time. They're no lightweights when it comes to alcohol consumption.

xria:eyeq360: I think that a majority of people lie about their alcohol consumption, so this isn't exactly groundbreaking or surprising in any way.

It is not surprising, it is well established and factored into studies and reports on the topic. The thing the most recent study is to get what should be a reasonably accurate assessment of the scale of the underreporting.

CSBLast time I had a physical, the doctor saw the line on the form that said "Occupation: Wine Bar Manager" and asked how much I drank. I answered truthfully, unaware that I was supposed to underestimate by X%. So she had me do a full liver panel on my blood test.

As it turns out, my liver is the healthiest organ in my body. Direct quote: "You're older than I am, and you drink a bottle of wine a day, and your liver function puts mine to shame. All I can tell you to do is keep drinking."/CSB

xria:People who are English partake of alcohol while in other countries as well (quite a lot of it in fact in some age ranges), etc., so a lot of that sort of issue will largely cancel itself out. It is certainly a lot more of a reasonably accurate assessment of underreporting than the previous wild assed guesses anyway.

For every tourist going to the UK abroad there are 1.5 Brits going abroad so I'd say I more than evens out. Assuming of course that the age distributions are similar. Then again, a random Brit going to Spain is more likely to drink than a random Spaniard going to the UK (Assumption based on the fact that the UK isn't really a party destination). So it might be that the 60% is too low.

Cormee:As an Irish person, visiting my company's offices in London, I was taken aback to see they all go out for a few pints on Fridays at lunch time. They're no lightweights when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Really? When I was studying in Dublin one summer, I was surprised by how crowded the pubs seemed around lunchtime, and it wasn't just tourists. Plenty of groups of people in business suits, having a smoke and a pint outside on nice days. It made me love the Irish so much!

UDel_Kitty:Cormee: As an Irish person, visiting my company's offices in London, I was taken aback to see they all go out for a few pints on Fridays at lunch time. They're no lightweights when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Really? When I was studying in Dublin one summer, I was surprised by how crowded the pubs seemed around lunchtime, and it wasn't just tourists. Plenty of groups of people in business suits, having a smoke and a pint outside on nice days. It made me love the Irish so much!

Not sure what you witnessed, there's not much drinking during the workday here. And I'm actually serious. The party starts at 5.30 and goes on all weekend.